WILD PIGEONS AND DOVES 



619 



Pigeons, in many cases numbering several billions of 

 birds, was no unusual thing; some of the flocks I saw 

 in southern Connecticut possibly contained as many as 

 a million, but no more. In certain localities they were 

 being shot down without mercy, and only a small pro- 

 portion of the victims gathered up for the markets. 



The last of all this great host consisted of some 

 twenty odd birds that lived in the Cincinnati Zoo; but 

 one after another of these passed away, leaving, finally, 

 but a single female specimen, which likewise died in 

 September, 1914. This specimen was sent to the 

 United States National Museum, being promptly turned 

 over to me for a record. I first had three life-size 

 photographs made of it at the photographic rooms of 

 the Museum, and then I took it to my home, accom- 

 panied by the late William Palmer, who made a skin of 

 the bird in my workroom, while I photographed its 

 anatomy at dififerent stages of the operation. A full 

 history of all this I have published in The Auk, the of- 

 ficial organ of the American Ornithologists' Union, and 

 in other places. 



Eventually the specimen was mounted by the late 

 Nelson R. Wood, and it is now on exhibition in the 

 Division of Birds of the United States National Mu- 

 seum, where I was permitted to make a photograph of 

 it ; a reproduction of that picture was published some 

 time ago in American Forestry. It was only in fairly 

 perfect plumage the usually beautiful tail of the 



MOURNING DOVE 



Fig, 5 This is a female specimen of the species, and is a re- 

 production of a photograph from life made by the author 

 when it was kept by him as a pet; it is widely known as the 

 Long-tailed Dove. 



NEST AND YOUNG OF MOURNING DOVE 



Fig. 6 From a photograph made by the author just after dis- 

 covering the nest in a grove of pine trees. At this age the 

 young have a plumage of soft, flufTy white down. Note the 

 white "nib" on the end of the bill, just like that seen on 

 newly hatched chickens and other birds. 



species being in a very ragged condition, which was 

 plainly shown in the cut. 



Artists of many countries have given us illustrations 

 of this bird, and to this Japan forms no exception. In 

 Dr. C. O. Whitman's great volume on domesticated 

 pigeons, with extensive references to the ' wild forms, 

 Mr. Hayashi, the well-known Japanese painter of birds, 

 gave figures of both sexes of our extinct Wild Pigeon, 

 and these were published in my above-referred to 

 article in Scientific Monthly. 



In our bird fauna we have some very beautiful wild 

 doves some eight species arrayed in as many genera. 

 Of these I give a portrait of our well-known Mourning 

 Dove, together with a figure showing the nest and young 

 of this favorite species; these are both from life 

 and taken by myself a few years ago. This species has 

 a number of vernacular names in addition to the one 

 given above as the Turtle Dove, the California, and 

 the Wild Dove. It is one of the earliest comers in the 

 spring, and its lovely cooing is familiar to hundreds of 

 nature lovers in this country. (Figs. 5 and 6.) 



Many years ago, when I was serving as Post Surgeon 

 at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, a wonderful flight of these 



